A Match Made before Heaven

Author's note: Another one that builds to sex - if this isn't your cup of tea, move along, or not, but be prepared for a build-up :)

~*~*~*~*~

Throughout my teenage years my sole focus was becoming a nurse. I had dreams of working in paediatrics helping sick children see light in their darkness or perhaps one day doing some further study and becoming a midwife so I could work with women and their babies. My parents were both doctors. Dad is a successful paediatrician, hence my love for children I suppose, and Mum has worked as a GP for most of her career. I too could have studied medicine and had the grades, however I knew I wanted to be more hands on with patients.

I am the youngest of four children. A doctor, married to a teacher, friend of second child teacher, married to a lawyer friend of third child also married to a lawyer. There are 7 grandchildren between them, and I adore my nieces and nephews. Then there's me, Fleur. At 31 I would love to find the joy and happiness I know my parents and siblings have, but I have a string of bad romances behind me.

When I graduated as a nurse 10 years ago, I decided to travel. I packed my bags and headed to England. I had been with Mark for a couple of years and he was keen to settle down at 21, but I knew I wanted more. He was my first real boyfriend and whilst we were both sweet together, I doubt that even if I hadn't travelled we would be together now.

In England I had a few dalliances, but nothing overly serious. I fucked my first doctor and although the sex was amazing, he was not looking for a relationship and I soon learn he had a number of women on the go at once. I returned to Australia when I was 23 and landed a job in a regional hospital on the coast, several hours drive from my family. I didn't mind the distance and did not want to be seen as Fleur Kingston, daughter of Dr Mike and Dr Sarah and sister of Dr Reuben.

The position was in paediatric oncology, helping kids with cancer. I believed I had found my calling. I fell in love, or so I thought, with Franco, a junior doctor that hailed from Spain who I was working with. It was a passionate relationship however Franco broke my heart when he told me he was moving to a major city to continue his training and made it quite clear that I was not welcome to go with him. I later learnt he had also been seeing other women on the side when a few months after he had left, he sent me a text saying he had been treated for chlamydia and I might like to be tested. Sure enough it was positive.

I went on a few dates with guys from dating apps over the years, but never really clicked with anyone. After five years in paediatric oncology I was becoming burnt out. I could feel my compassion waning and knew I needed to find something else. I was grumpy with my colleagues and I was sick of helping children die.

Of course, this had not gone unnoticed, and my manager took me aside one day and told me that they were changing things in the unit a bit. I was honest and said I thought I needed to work with some older patients for a while and suggested the geriatric ward. She told me that I had some first-rate qualities in oncology and a senior nurse position was coming up in the adult oncology unit that she wanted to recommend me for. But first I was to take six weeks holiday.

I had plenty of leave banked up, yet another reason I was possibly burnt out, and decided to go backpacking through Southeast Asia. It was a great holiday. I had a couple of one-night stands along the way and met some amazing people. I took cooking classes in Thailand and Laos and sailed down the Mekong River.

Adult oncology turned out to be different from paediatrics. Yes, people were still dying far too young and I was still nursing families who were grieving, but I received so much wisdom from my patients. One particular patient was Maureen. Maureen was in her 60s and had survived breast cancer in her 40s only to find a mole on her back had become a melanoma in her late 50s and she had been battling several secondary cancers since then.

Maureen had been a regular on the ward since before I joined it. There was something about her that drew me to her and we hit it off straight away. She had had a hard life. She had two daughters in their 40s and had lived in a violent relationship with their father until her son Hugh was born. Her ex-husband had convinced her that if she had a boy then everything would be different. She told me that every month when her period would arrive she would receive a few strikes with a belt buckle because she had been unable to conceive.

Eventually though, she was pregnant with Hugh. All was good for most of her pregnancy until he came home in a rage when she was 8 months pregnant and belted her half to death. Monique, her eldest had called an ambulance and Hugh was delivered via emergency caesarean. Her husband was charged with assault and spent time in prison, however he had never met his son and told her he never intended to.

Monique and her sister, Heather, would often call to see Maureen, but I had never met Hugh. Maureen explained that he had qualified as a physiotherapist and been travelling ever since. Her room was decorated with his postcards from various parts of Africa where he was currently. Hugh was slightly older than me and Maureen made it very clear that she thought he and I would make a wonderful couple. I told her that Hugh was bound to meet a lovely lady in Africa and he probably had a string of broken hearts across the globe. She had a picture of Hugh next to her bed and he was indeed very good looking- piercing blue eyes and a large mane of blonde curly hair that he had tied in a ponytail.

Maureen had been in and out of hospital several times over the last few months and it was clear that this time the cancer had spread too far, and she was not going to see her next birthday. I asked her if she had told Hugh the seriousness of the situation and she kept saying that he didn't need to worry about her he was having so much fun travelling.

One day when Monique had been to visit her mother I pulled her aside and tried to assess the situation. I asked if Hugh knew how serious his mother's condition was. Monique explained that she was not very close to her brother and didn't really know how to contact him. I asked Heather when she next visited and she gave a similar response to her sister.

I was on night duty when I could hear Maureen coughing the night away. This was not unusual for her. Even before she pressed the call bell for a nurse I was in her room repositioning pillows and attempting to make her more comfortable.

"This is it, isn't it, Fleur," she gripped my hand as I stroked her arm. I told her it could be weeks or it could be days. There was no way of telling. I told her that I was the youngest child in the family and had worked overseas however I would have come home at the drop of a hat if anything had happened to my parents.

"Maureen, can I ring Hugh for you and explain the situation?" I asked gently. Maureen had a tear trickling down her cheek. She nodded and gave me the number.

I needed authority make an international call using the hospital system, so I used my private mobile phone. I excused myself from my colleagues and explained that I had to make a call for Maureen. They were all understanding. I sat in the nurse's room and called the number that had been given to me. It rang for a few seconds and I was getting ready to hear a voice mail.

"Hi, this is Hugh!" a bright voice answered.

"Um Hugh, hi, sorry I was expecting a voicemail, um sorry, it's Fleur Kingston here, I'm nursing your mother at the hospital." I stammered. I knew what I was about to tell him would change his life.

"Hugh, Maureen asked me to call you because the cancer has spread further." I managed.

"Um, wow, like are we talking palliation?" Hugh asked, obviously jumping to the worst-case scenario.

I explained that we were starting end of life care for his mother. She was comfortable, but we were talking weeks left at most. I could hear Hugh trying to hold it together on the other end of the line.

"Hugh, I'm so sorry to have to tell you like this over the phone. I had asked Monique and Heather if they could contact you," I started.

"No, no, we have a strange family history and I have cut myself off for many years now. Looks like Mum's found a way to bring me home. Can I, can I um, please speak to her?" He asked.

I started walking to her room. Before I went in, I explained to Hugh that the medications she was on had caused a slight delirium that appeared from time to time. I tapped on the door and opened it to find Maureen sitting up wide awake.

"Maureen, I've got someone on the line who wants to say hello," I explained as I handed her the phone.

"Hugh? Hughby? Is that really you?" Maureen sobbed as she listened to her son.

"No, there's no need for you to come back, unless of course you want to finally meet Fleur, she's so beautiful, honey and I know you will love her." Maureen winked at me as I rolled my eyes.

"Oh Hughby, I've missed you so much." Maureen handed me the phone. I could hear Hugh sobbing.

"Hugh, it's Fleur, I'm sorry- I did try and warn you about the delirium. Now this is my personal phone I'm calling from, please keep in touch and let me know if you need a lift from the airport or anything." I could not believe what I was offering, and I thought I was getting close to crossing a boundary I knew I should not go near.

Maureen had not been the first patient who had tried to match me up with a family member. I had nursed many children who decided I should marry their father, but what had started off as a joke with Maureen had planted a seed in my head I knew I had to kill rather than fertilise.

I remember Maureen snapping a photo of me as I took her blood pressure one day saying she was going to email it to Hugh to 'whet his interest' she had said. We had both laughed. I do not see myself as any beauty. I try and keep fit with a walk each day, but I am not catwalk skinny by any stretch of the imagination. I enjoy my cake and chocolate too much! My mother describes me as Rubenesque, a weird description noting my eldest brother's name. It is probably an apt description. I am curvy and I probably jiggle more than I should, but I am happy in my body. I am rather tall and taller than most of my colleagues. I wear my blonde hair cropped short because it is easier for me to manage.

The rest of the night was spent in with Maureen. She was wide awake and wanted to talk. She asked me to ask the doctors to hold off giving her too much medication until Hugh had arrived. My other patients had had quiet nights and I was able to write an extensive note in Maureen's record as the sun rose. I explained that Hugh had been contacted in Africa and was flying home and Maureen hoped to be fairly unsedated when he arrived.

As I left the hospital having handed all this information to the day staff I checked my phone. There was a text from Hugh, 'Fleur, thanks for all you are doing for Mum. She has talked a lot of you over the years and we probably owe it to her to at least meet for a coffee when I get there. I am on a flight day after tomorrow and will be at the hospital Friday morning. Please don't tell Mum the arrangements though- I want to surprise her.'

I replied that I was back at work Friday morning and would not be seeing Maureen before then, so it all worked well.

My days off were lovely. I caught up with my friend Nat for a coffee on Thursday morning. Nat is also a nurse who I had worked with in the paediatric ward. I told her about Maureen and her matchmaking. I told Nat that I didn't want to cross any professional boundaries, but I was considering catching up with Hugh for a coffee at some stage.

"Don't feel you have to, Fleur, remember you don't have to please everyone!" Nat had counselled. She knew I had a habit of going above and beyond what was expected of me. I told her that if he ended up being a short guy with bad breath then I would let it pass, but I was not ruling anything out.

I was sad when I arrived at work on Friday morning to see the deterioration in Maureen. Monique and Heather were both there with a few of Maureen's six grandchildren. Maureen had told them she had spoken with Hugh and I filled them in on the details outside the room. I was team leader for the shift and did not have a patient load, however I helped my colleague Roger wash Maureen in bed.

"Now Roger, we need to make Maureen extra presentable today," I smiled as I wiped her face, "because you never know when she might get a special visitor."

"Oh Fleur, are you meeting your intended for the first time today?" Roger joked? Maureen smiled. She was weak and reliant on the oxygen tubing to provide more air for her, but she managed to tell Roger that he would see exactly how perfect Hugh was for me when he arrived.

The door buzzer to the ward sounded when I was at the nurses station doing some paperwork. I looked up as a tall muscular man walked in with a large backpack. I knew it was Hugh as soon as I saw him from the photo in Maureen's room. I was not expecting an Adonis however! Hugh was well over six-foot-tall and had very broad shoulders. I could tell he had abs of steel based on his forearm muscles poking through the rolled-up sleeves of his linen shirt and the trunks of solid muscle that passed for his legs. His blonde hair was tied in a ponytail like in the photos and he sported a neat beard.

"Hugh?" I held out my hand, "I'm Fleur, here let me take you to your Mum."

I explained that Maureen had deteriorated over the past few days but she was still semi-lucid. I tapped on her door and heard Monique's usual "Come-in!"

"Maureen, there's someone to see you."

Hugh immediately hugged his mother and the two of them cried. Heather gathered the children together and told Monique she would take them home and be back later.

"Fleur," Heather stopped me as she was about to leave, "We're having a bit of a party tonight in Mum's room. We're bringing Fish and Chips and all the grandchildren are going to be here and I know you won't be working, but you are Mum's favourite nurse and Monique and I would love it if you would join us."

I touched Heather's arm and told her that it sounded lovely and I would be there. As soon as I had said it though I realised how I was really crossing a boundary. I went and saw Janice, my manager. Janice was extremely wise and understanding. She warned me about making a habit of this, but she knew I was close to Maureen and agreed to it. "Plus, your intended, Hugh arrived today, didn't he?" Janice laughed as I rolled my eyes.

At home after work I jumped in the shower and let the water wash away the day's stress. I washed my hair and thought about the evening to come. I was going for Maureen and whilst Hugh would be there, this was their family time and I would not stay long. I thought long and hard about what to wear and settled on jeans and a patterned blouse. I never wear makeup at work but brushed some mascara over my lashes and rubbed some gloss on my lips. I grabbed my bag and was back on the ward at 6pm as instructed.

There was indeed a party going on in Maureen's room! Monique introduced me to her husband Jim and pointed out her three children. I had met Heather's husband Cameron a few times when he had visited, and he introduced me to their three children including toddler Stevie. Stevie was teething and a little miserable, so I offered to take her to give her parents more time with Maureen. Hugh greeted me with a smile and a wave. I saw his bag was still in the corner of the room and he had not changed since the morning. Stevie finally settled and fell asleep on my shoulder. We sat around the room and ate fish and chips.

At one stage I saw Maureen whisper something to Heather and she smiled and looked at me and said "Yes, Mum, you are right!" as she winked at me. Later I was to find Maureen loved the look of me with a baby on my hip!

Shortly after 7 I said I needed to be going as I would be back in the morning. I asked if anyone was staying the night with Maureen and Hugh immediately said he was. I went and saw my colleagues and arranged a fold-out bed for him. Stevie did not want to be handed back to her mother or father, so I handed her to Hugh. Even though she had not met her uncle before that day she took an immediate liking to his hair and beard.

When I arrived for my shift on Sunday afternoon Maureen was still with us, however we recognised it would not be long. She had been unconscious since I had helped wash her the day before. I noticed a change in her breathing and asked Hugh and Heather if they would like me to call Monique as I sensed the time was coming. Maureen had always loved Irish ballads and a CD was playing in the room. Heather had brought in a blanket from home and Hugh sat and stroked his Mum's hand.

Later in the evening I went back to see how everything was. The three grown children were telling stories of growing up. I put on a pair of gloves and cleaned Maureen's mouth with a sponge and applied lip moisturiser. I gave her a kiss on the head and thanked her for being my favourite patient. We all knew the time had come. Hugh stood up and asked me to sit down for a bit and tell them stories of Maureen from her time in hospital.

I told them of Maureen's love for each of her children. I said that Maureen had told me that she was so proud that none of her children appeared to have their father's traits of drinking too much and of course the destruction that can come from that. I had a tear trickling down my face and when I had finished my story we noticed that Maureen was gone.

Heather and Monique turned to each other and started hugging and crying. Hugh was standing behind me so I stood and instinctively pulled him in for a hug. He sobbed on my shoulder and held me so close. I stroked his back and could feel the muscles under his shirt. He smell caught me off guard. It was a mix of sandalwood and another scent I could not quite place, but it was captivating. After a few minutes he pulled away.

"Oh Fleur, I am so sorry, that was so inappropriate." He muttered.

I told him it was fine and I was proud to be there in his time of grief.

Maureen's funeral was a real celebration. The three children and four of the grandchildren told stories of Maureen. Hugh even joked that he "Had to come home and meet Fleur who his mother would not shut up about and had decided was going to become my wife. Mum, I saw for those last few days the care and comfort Fleur and her colleagues provided for you and for our family and I sincerely thank you all. Oh and Fleur, who knows what will happen in the future!" Hugh added with a wink to roars of laughter.

After the service over a cup of tea Hugh came again to thank me and check I was not offended by his eulogy. I laughed and told him that it was the laugh we all needed. He explained he was heading back to Africa later in the week, but he still wanted to catch up for a coffee and thank me again for my care. I told him this was not necessary, and we again gave each other a hug. Roger was at the service with me and told me the hug went on way too long and it was clear Hugh was into me, but I put it down to grief.

Several weeks later I bumped into Monique at the supermarket. She asked me if I had heard from Hugh. I laughed and said I was still waiting on my postcard from Africa! I was surprised when she told me he had moved back to town recently and was working at the hospital as a physiotherapist.

I thought of texting Hugh, but realised I only had his African number. Besides, I figured he'd contact me if he wanted to. I tried not to read into the hugs at the hospital and funeral and put them down to grief.